Friday, January 22, 2010

What To Expect When Visiting Italian Restaurants

By Luigi DeMarco

Searching for a place for a business meeting or a family outing can be tough, however it can be rewarding when you experience the entire atmosphere. Italian Restaurants Bellevue that cater to the quick dining experiences tend to have more fattening foods that while quick and easy to prepare are not as wholesome as a more elaborate meal. While they have made efforts to combat this, Italians have a passion for food and quality and it reflects in many Italian restaurants.

When you enter the doors of the establishment, right away a friendly hostess greets you. Your eyes wander to the warm colors in Tuscan villa style tiles on the floor, the light neutral tones on the wall and the over abundance in grapevines in the restaurant's decor. Crisp white linens grace the tables set with an array of wine glasses, and eating utensils. A rather inviting scene for you and your friends, family or acquaintances to relax and enjoy a meal.

An impeccably dressed server will come to your table usually with a free sample of one of their house wines. They will invite you to partake in the daily specials and offer to help you pair a complementing wine with your meal. Over all, the server will be there to answer any questions that you may have and is willing to work close in hand with the chef to ensure any dietary requirements or allergies are handled with a delicate hand.

You are given plenty of time to peruse the menu and decide what to order. Italy has created many popular foods that are connotative to the Italian lifestyles. You may wish to order a platter of breads with a selection of olive oils for dipping, many of these are light and tasty leaving plenty of room for your entree. Another classic appetizer is bruschetta paired with some freshly chopped basil and roma tomatoes. Flat breads, bread sticks and stuffed portabella mushrooms are always classic Italian fare.

There are many different wines that are from Italy that pair up well with any meal or appetizer. You wouldn't want a wine that would overwhelm the flavors of the meal, nor do you wish to have a wine with your meal that you could not taste because the flavors of the meal over power the wine. A balance between the two will have delightful results on your meal. There are many other beverages they offer such as soda, water, coffee, teas, and specialty drinks.

Italians take a copious amount of time on the preparation of their meals. A delectable tomato sauce can take about three hours to make, however you would not wish to wait that long, so restaurants make large batches in advance and store what they do not use right away so that it remains preserved and can be accessed when they need more.

There are many different meal types available, such as beef, seafood, chicken, pork and the most interesting flavor complementing ingredients on pizzas. Perhaps one of the most well known menu features is pasta. With a multitude of grains available, noodle creation comes in many forms, flavors and textures. Vegetables that are added to a tomato sauce is called a primevera, while a creamy garlic sauce is an alfredo and if you add a pancetta or bacon it becomes a carbonara. Seafood and meat can be added to make your meal as interesting as you.

There are many classic Italian desserts, probably one of the most notable is Tiramisu, a creamy custard on light airy espresso coated lady fingers. Mouth melting gelato take the place of American ice creams for a little taste of Italy. Soft sugary zeppoli are the Italians twist on doughnuts. Warmly flavored biscotti or amaretti cookies is always a hit with children, the cookies are delicious fun to crunch. Mascarpone and fruit is a light creamy burst of flavor after any meal, the lightly flavored cheesy dessert is a creamy complement.

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